


Imekari-Vat

by EchoEquinox



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/F, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Pheromones, Vaginal Fingering, briefly mentioned past inquisitor/sera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:41:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25557508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoEquinox/pseuds/EchoEquinox
Summary: The Tamassrans really did a number on Qunari to keep them compliant. Inquisitor Solmar Adaar is realizing it firsthand, and reaches out to the person she trusts the most.
Relationships: Female Adaar/Cassandra Pentaghast, Female Inquisitor/Cassandra Pentaghast
Comments: 4
Kudos: 80





	Imekari-Vat

**Author's Note:**

> Straight Cassandra is a crime and Bioware is homophobic, so here I am, forced to write fanficton to explore my Inquisitor's relationship with Cassandra  
> Also my roommate and I have a whole "canon DA timeline" with art at their twitter (@fivebreadloaves) and I don't think Qunari heat is canon in that but hey you know what it is now

It was late into the evening when the tentative knock had come at her door. She’d been looking over half-written notes she’d scratched out to people long dead, so the woman’s profuse apologies for waking her were moot. 

When she said that the Inquisitor had requested her presence, however, she knew something was wrong. 

“Thank you,” she’d told the woman with a pleasant smile, and the second the door had closed she'd sprung up, stripping off her sleep clothes and dressing quickly into her casual armor before taking to the hall. 

Skyhold was… different at night.  Quieter, certainly, but also people held a certain… reverence as they moved through its halls. She’d occasionally seen people kneeling at the throne, or whispering to themselves at the gold and red banners that adorned the walls, and part of her felt… alarmed by it. The Inquisitor was no Maker, and comparing her to Andraste felt so heretical. They viewed her as a legend, an almost deific symbol. They had no idea just how mortal she was. 

She nodded to a guard posted outside the door and rapped a knuckle against it. “Lady Inquisitor?” she called. “I’m coming in.” She let a beat pass before she entered, scanning the room. It was… a mess. Things had been knocked from shelves, her bed had been messed with the covers all bunched around an open space, and there were… scores, against the wall, like an animal had clawed at it. “Lady Inquisitor?” she asked, drawing a shortsword. “Are you here?”

The balcony doors slammed open and Cassandra tensed. Instead, the Inquisitor stumbled inside, eyes wide and wild. She’d discarded the scarf and bodice, leaving only a half-unbuttoned dark red shirt and her leather pants. “Cassandra,” she panted with a soft smile. “You came.”

“Of course I came, you called for me,” she frowned, relaxing her stance but not yet sheathing her blade. “Is everything-?” 

She paused as the qunari woman took a step forward before careening to the side, slamming against a dresser. Her horns dragged along the wood and Cassandra was suddenly very conscious of where the scoring along the walls and furniture had come from. “Poison,” she spat. “Guards!” 

“N-no,” the Inquisitor groaned as Cassandra knelt by her side. “Please, no guards. It’s not poison.” 

Cassandra frowned, but her wide, seafoam green eyes were pleading enough that she sighed, moving to the door and cracking it. The five guards in full armor stopped shot when she raised her hand and shook her head. “You and you,” she pointed, “stand guard. The rest of you patrol nearby.” They saluted and left, and Cassandra turned to see the Inquisitor dragging herself toward her bed. “Maker’s breath,” she swore, kneeling beside her to help her stand. She had never realized quite how densely Solmar was built, with her qunari stature. “Here, get into bed.”

“Thank you,” Solmar sighed, using Cassandra to steady herself until she could fall into bed. “Thank you, Cassandra.” 

“Do you mind telling me what’s going on?” she frowned, a hand at her hip.

“It’s-? I’m…?” She paused, scowling before beginning to unbutton her shirt. Cassandra turned away, covering her face and feeling pink tease at her cheeks. “It’s called… Imekari-Vat,” she said slowly. “Or that’s… what I’m told. It translates to… ‘child fire’? Which seems silly.” 

“Child fire?” she parroted.

“I used… to think this was what human and elven women got when they talked about-? But I suppose there’s less… bleeding, with this.” 

“And more falling,” she noted, Solmar laughing softly. 

“So I’ve heard.” Cassandra carefully turned her head, her cheeks going redder at the sight of the Inquisitor, bare-breasted and in only under underclothes, spread out on her bed, sweating and panting. 

“What is this… ‘child fire’?” 

“I’m Tal-Vashoth,” she started. “So most of my knowledge of Qunari culture comes from Bull.”

“Which I’m sure means it was laced with expletives,” Cassandra replied, quirking an eyebrow as Solmar grinned.

“That makes his storytelling more colorful.” She paused, her face falling slightly. “Imekari-Vat is… believed to be something bred into us by the Tamassran, years and years ago, to keep us…” She squirmed, uncomfortable. “Compliant? Hm. The Tamassran breed Qunari like hunting dogs, each with a specific purpose. But to do that they need…? To… breed us.” 

It clicked, very suddenly. “It’s a heat,” Cassandra realized. “Like an-?” She bit her tongue, but Solmar laughed and nodded. 

“Like an animal, yes,” she said softly. 

“I didn’t mean to offend-” 

“You’re fine, Cassandra,” she sighed, her breath coming in hot pants now. The air smelled… sweet and sickly, like fermenting fruit. “But… yes. It’s a heat.” She sighed, closing her eyes, and Cassandra let her watch the swell and fall of her chest, for just a second. “I had Sera to help me with it, for a time. She had this… well, ‘device’ is making it sound too elegant, but a cylinder with bees…? Regardless, it was clever, and it helped. But we’ve…? She…” 

“I heard,” Cassandra nodded slowly, Solmar cracking open an eye. “It was only hearsay, but it’s been circulating.” 

“Mm,” she grunted. “Last month was… troubling without her, but it wasn’t as strong.” 

“And this seems to be… much stronger,” Cassandra noted. 

“It is,” the qunari woman groaned, draping an arm over her face. 

During the pause, Cassandra’s brain clicked again. “Lady Inquisitor,” she said slowly. “Why did you call for me during this?” 

Solmar blushed red enough that it was visible through her ashen grey cheeks as she sighed. “Cassandra, you’re one of my closest confidants. I figured you’d be able to… to advise me or…?” She huffed, peeking out from the hands that covered her face. 

“Or… _OH_.” Cassandra went rigid, feeling the blush burn at her cheeks. “Inquisitor, do you think I’m-?”

“A-are you not?” she gaped, wide eyed. “Maker, I’m so sorry- I thought you’d- You’ve ever been with-?”

“No, no,” Cassandra laughed, covering her own face with a hand. “Maker, I… I’ve only been with one other person, and he was a man.”

“Andraste’s ass I’m so sorry,” Solmar groaned, rolling over in bed, burying her face in her pillow. Cassandra’s eyes lingered on her back muscles for a moment, the curve of her ass, before turning away entirely to keep from staring. “I didn’t mean to be so presumptuous I just…?”

“I have gotten that more than once before,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “What about me is so…” 

“Gay?” Solmar laughed, and Cassandra felt like her face was on fire.

“ _ Yes. _ ” 

“I’m not…? Hm.” There was a long pause. “The haircut?” 

“My haircut?” Cassandra gaped, spinning on her heel to face the Inquisitor. “What about my haircut is-?”

Her breath caught in her throat, watching as Solmar kicked her underwear off finally, panting and gasping for breath. “Sorry,” she gritted her teeth. “It’s… too hot.” 

Cassandra paused for a long moment, looking over her scarred torso, resting for less than a second at the red-brown thatch between her legs before moving back up to meet Solmar’s eyes. Heavy lidded, studying Cassandra carefully, flicking over her body before up to her face again. She closed her eyes, whispered a quick prayer, and began unstrapping her gauntlets. “What helps to fix this?”

“To fix-?” Solmar blinked. “O-oh! I, ah…? The… usual?” 

Cassandra hesitated before nodding slowly and tugging off her boots, discarding them into a neat pile on the floor before climbing up onto the bed, into what she was realizing the Inquisitor had instinctively made into something of a nest. “I haven’t done this before,” she said flatly.

Solmar gasped sharply as Cassandra settled between her legs. “Y-you… you’ve touched yourself…?” 

She paused. “I suppose I have,” she admitted. “The angle is different.” 

“Anything will help,” Solmar sighed, covering her face. 

Something about Cassandra thrilled from having the Inquisitor so wound up. Out of anyone in the hold she could’ve asked for assistance with this particular problem, she thought of Cassandra. What did that say about her? 

No, she assured herself, she knew Cassandra would be objective about this. She expected her to remain professional. She tried to stay clinical as her fingers met Solmar’s entrance, already dripping and smelling strongly of a pungent sweetness. Pheromones, she realized. “Tell me what feels good,” she murmured softly, running her fingers along her slit slowly, watching Solmar quake and moan. 

“All of it,” she whispered with a groan. “This is fine. You’re doing fine, Cassandra.” 

She nodded confidently. If even these minute ministrations were enough for her, she was confident that anything she did was likely to please her.

So she carefully slid one finger as deep as she dared.

“Oh Maker, Cassandra,” Solmar gasped sharply, fingers digging into the sheets. “Oh Andraste…” She tried to bite back a smile as she slowly pumped into the woman’s cunt, ignoring the lewd noises from how sopping wet the qunari had become. She curved her finger, moving against her inner walls as her thumb found the woman’s clit, engorged and throbbing with desperation. “Fuck,  _ fuck _ …” 

“More?” she asked, almost teasingly, as she knew the answer. 

“ _ Yes _ ,” she hissed, gasping for air. She obediently added a second finger, listening to her keening cries as her fingers moved faster, harder, coated in the Inquisitor’s sweet-smelling slick. The Inquisitor grunted and mewled, bucking and rolling her hips desperately, and Cassandra felt… sorry for her. It was like a sickness, seeping out of her and clouding her mind. 

Cassandra promised to follow Solmar into whatever battle they faced, and ensure that she kept fighting. If this was what she had to do, she would do so willingly, for her Inquisitor. 

She swallowed hard before scooting back, her fingers never leaving the tight grip of Solmar’s pussy, though the woman leaned forward just enough to see Cassandra lowering herself, face bright red. “C-Cassandra,” she gasped, eyes wide. “You don’t have-”

“I won’t see you plagued by this, if I can help it,” Cassandra said softly, and watched as the qunari woman’s skin tensed where her hot breath hit, along her toned thighs. “Relax, Inquisitor.” It looked like an effort, but eventually she did relax back into bed as Cassandra frowned. She’d seen it done, knew the  _ theory _ , but never quite… had it done to her. 

Carefully, she planted a clinical kiss on the inside of Solmar’s thigh before replacing her thumb with her tongue, dragging the flat of it against her clit. The Inquisitor cried out and bucked with a sharp gasp, and Cassandra… shouldn’t have done that. Her tongue almost felt like it was tingling from the juices, making her feel heady like she’d had too much to drink. If the Qunari were able to drink more than humans, it stood to reason they’d be able to stomach more of this as well. 

Cassandra never stood a chance. 

“Maker,” she groaned, lapping at Solmar with vigor. The Inquisitor gasped and groaned, hooking one leg around Cassandra, digging her heel into the hollow between her shoulder blades to pin her in place as she fingered harder and faster. She wasn’t quite sure what she was doing, but she was sure she was making up for it in eagerness. Her Inquisitor didn’t deserve to be taken by this… this _heat_. She was a proud and strong woman, and seeing her reduced to this was… simultaneously saddening and… another feeling she was trying to push away. 

“Cassandra,” she whined, grabbing at Cassandra’s hair and tugging lightly. A shiver ran down her spine and she moaned into Solmar’s cunt, her tongue still working to get more of the delicious ambrosia. “Right there,” she gasped suddenly. “Right there, yes, Cass, fuck…” She shuddered and went in harder, pounding her fingers into the woman and thrashing with her tongue as Solmar gasped and shrieked, wrapping both legs around her in a death grip, tight enough that Cassandra’s ribs began to ache as she held her. It was a delicious hurt that drove her harder, faster, and then-

“FUCK!” Solmar growled, yanking Cassandra against her and holding here there as she gushed against her, coating her face and dripping down her chin even as Cassandra desperately tried to get as much as she could, swallowing and panting, eventually noticing that Solmar was looking down at her from above, her tongue still buried inside her. “Cassandra,” she whispered, a blush against her cheeks. 

She panted, pulling away and sitting upright, wiping at her face. She gasped she felt hands at her jaw, pulling her into a hard kiss, Solmar’s tongue probing into her mouth, excitedly tasting herself as Cassandra moaned, melting against her. Her mouth was sweet in a different way, but just as enticing to her addled mind. “Solmar, I… I-I mean, L-Lady Inquisitor-” 

“Is it alright?” she asked, and Cassandra nodded hard, suddenly feeling very suffocated in her armor. “Do you need…?” 

She swallowed and closed her eyes. What did she need? Was this what she wanted? She’d only ever been with Regalyan, and that had never even gotten this far. Was this right, a former Seeker and her Inquisitor? She opened her mouth to speak, opening her eyes and seeing-

Her. Solmar Adaar, bare-chested and covered in a sheen of sweat. Behind her was an enormous black, gold, red banner with the symbol of the Chantry, her head haloed by the spokes of the sun’s rays, light dancing off her horns and making them almost look gold in the dim light. 

“Maker,” she whispered, closing her eyes and nodding. “Please.” 

The Inquisitor took no convincing. She felt hands at the buckles of her armor before she saw them, one quickly moving to cup Cassandra’s face, kissing her eagerly. Cassandra’s hands replaced hers, holding their faces close so Solmar could continue to undress Cassandra, shrugging off the breastplate and letting it fall to the ground with a clatter, followed quickly by the inane belts of her pants, kicking them off as well. When she was left in only her underwear, she edged closer to Solmar, feeling calloused hands at her breasts, careful nips along her neck.

“Tell me if I do something wrong,” Solmar hummed, as if anything she could to do Cassandra would be _wrong_. She was smiling against the skin of Cassandra’s jaw, making her hiss out a swear even as she nodded hard. Pleadingly. She needed more. The smell of Solmar’s sex filled the room, Cassandra’s panting breaths as those rough hands move down her waist sucking down the scent, filling her lungs to bursting. Careful fingers moved between Cassandra’s legs, sliding against her underwear as she gasped, her legs snapping shut. Solmar frowned, attempting to meet Cassandra’s eye as she looked away.

“I… am sorry about the hesitance,” she said softly. “This is my… I’ve never…” Solmar’s eyes went wide, jaw dropping as she jerked away from her.

“Cassandra, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to… You don’t want your first time to be… like this-” 

She shook her head, gasping down breaths of hot air. “It’s fine, Inquisitor. It’s what I need, like how I helped you.” 

“Right,” Solmar smiled, though it seemed almost forced. “Professional.” 

The knot in Cassandra’s stomach protested otherwise, but she gave a curt nod, leaning against Solmar, chests pressed together, skin on skin, as she bit softly at the grey skin of her shoulder. The Inquisitor groaned, fingers moving back to Cassandra’s cunt, grinding slowly through the thin fabric. “Professional,” Solmar repeated, her voice a low hum, almost a growl. “Is that why you’re dripping?” 

Cassandra’s breath hitched and she groaned hard as fingers flicked at her clit. “I’m-  _ Maker _ , Solmar…” 

“It’s okay,” she assured, sliding a hand into Cassandra’s underwear, her other hand gripping Cassandra’s hair. “You can want this.” 

The moan out of Cassandra’s throat was almost a sob as she clung tighter to her Inquisitor, fingers pressing into the thin layer of fat over the muscles of her arms. She pulled hard, burying her face in Solmar’s neck, kissing and biting desperately. 

She was allowed this. In a world where an ancient darkspawn magister threatened the world, ripping holes in reality to a dreamworld full of demons and all manner of unspeakable horrors, a civil war threatening to tear Orlais apart, a cult of Tevinter extremists with a penchant for blood magic, the disappearance of the Grey Wardens in their time of need, the death of the Divine… she was  _ allowed _ this. This small reprieve, this quiet moment with someone she respected, someone she… 

“Please,” she begged and nodded. “Please, Solmar. I  _ do _ want this. You. I want… you.” 

The qunari pulled back, her eyes flicking back and forth between Cassandra’s before a hand cupped her cheek softly, so hard and battle-worn and yet so gentle and careful. Like Cassandra was something that could be broken. Like she was precious. Her own hand rested over Solmar’s as the two met in the middle, kissing slow and firm, a  _ real _ kiss, for the first time, not one out of desperation. 

“I care about you,” Solmar said, her forehead pressed to Cassandra’s. “I asked you here because I trust you, Cassandra. You’re important to me, more than the others.” 

She felt a twisting in her chest that she couldn’t describe. Instead, she nodded, pulling away from Solmar and crawling back into the nest of blankets, resting on her elbows. “Show me,” she said, probably more firmly than she’d meant. “I… I mean, if you… care about me, like I do-?” Solmar shut her up with a kiss, her fingers between Cassandra’s legs, slicking themselves before slowly dipping into her without a word. She cried out, feeling herself tense around her fingers, forcing herself to relax, focusing on Solmar’s face as she bucked her hips up. She was careful and slow, one hand braced beside Cassandra’s head - which Cassandra took advantage of by peppering it with occasional moaning kisses - and the other worked her gently but firmly. 

“Tell me what you-”

“More,” Cassandra begged immediately. “Please.” 

Solmar laughed, a beautiful sight with her normally braided hair loose around her face, but she nodded and slipped another finger into Cassandra as she whimpered and cried out. Letting loose felt so contrary to who she was, she’d been told it was a weakness to lower her guard. But this felt… right. The Inquisitor who struck down demons by her side was the same who came with Varric to rib her about a romance novel - and helped make Varric write a second part. For her. 

“More,” she whimpered, sweating and panting now. She felt a heat around Solmar’s fingers, like she was burning up inside, like fire was coursing through her veins, and she couldn’t blame it on the scent anymore. “I’m- Solmar, I’m close-”

“C’mon, Seeker,” Solmar panted, cupping Cassandra’s face now as her thumb worked her clit, a third finger teasing at her entrance before sliding halfway in. “Finish.” 

A ragged, whining cry tore from her lips as she bucked, a steady, grey hand at her shoulder to hold her still. She was whining something, babbling curses and Solmar’s name and the name of the Maker and Andraste and anything her addled mind could think to rattle off until a pair of firm lips finally pressed to hers, pushing her against the bed. 

There was a long moment until the spasms passed and Solmar finally collapsed to Cassandra’s side, a heavy arm draped over her chest. She hesitantly traced her nails along the Inquisitor’s arm, grabbing a blanket and covering herself up from the waist down. “Someone’s modest,” Solmar hummed, her voice thick with sleep. 

“I suppose the pheromones have cleared out some,” Cassandra replied, chuckling awkwardly. 

“The what?” Solmar blinked, resting her chin on Cassandra’s shoulder.

“The-the pheromones-?” She paused. “Your… scent, it-?”

“That’s not part of the imekari-vat,” Solmar grinned. “Lady Pentaghast, did you think you were under the influence of pheromones?”

“Maker,” she groaned, burying her face into the pillow and curling away from Solmar. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?” 

“I won’t tell anyone,” she promised, tugging Cassandra in close and wrapping around her protectively, kissing her shoulder slowly. “Was this alright, Cassandra?” 

“It wasn’t terrible,” she said resolutely. 

Solmar snorted. “Such an endorsement. Do you think that should be our new slogan? ‘The Inquisition: We’re Not Terrible’.” 

She laughed, genuinely, and felt fingers threading comfortingly through her hair. “I  _ SUPPOSE _ … I could get used to this. Perhaps.” 

“Only a perhaps?” Solmar hummed. “What ever would I have to do to make that ‘perhaps’ a ‘definitely’?” 

“I have a sinking feeling you already have a few ideas,” she sighed, smiling to herself. 

“I absolutely do,” she chuckled, kissing at Cassandra’s neck. “Have a problem with that?”

“Not at all,” she sighed, closing her eyes. No problems at all. 


End file.
